


Of Bonds and Boffins

by Celyan



Series: Works for 007 Fest 2019 [10]
Category: James Bond (Craig movies)
Genre: Breaking and Entering, M/M, Pining
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-25
Updated: 2019-07-26
Packaged: 2020-07-19 13:58:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,109
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19975219
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Celyan/pseuds/Celyan
Summary: Q has a date. Then James Bond happens.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So I started a new thing, half for the fest and half because the first line just appeared to me. We’ll see where it leads to. 
> 
> Thanks to Ki for the beta, and people in Slack for helping me with things like the title and some word choices.

It’s Friday night, and Q is out on a date with a man that decidedly isn’t James Bond.

Carlos is dark where Bond is light - smooth tan skin, dark brown eyes, thick black hair long enough to curl around his (perfectly proportional) ears and strong jaw fetchingly - and perhaps an inch or two shorter than him, which makes him a barely noticeable bit shorter than Q himself, and his lightly accented English has a lovely mix of Spanish words sprinkled in it. All in all, he’s everything Bond isn’t for Q met him at an engineering conference, where they spent a lot of time together just chatting and exchanging ideas.

He is also one of the newest hires to Q Branch, which is one of the reasons that made Q hesitant to accept the invitation to dinner when Carlos first brought up the subject. 

Another reason is his crush on Bond, but Q rationalises that he’ll never get rid of _that_ if he never gives anyone else a chance. So he swallows his reservations and smiles and accepts the invitation, and spends an appropriate amount of time getting ready for their evening out, carefully choosing his attire and making sure that his hair behaves itself after his shower. 

Afterwards he kisses his cats on the soft spot between their ears and tells them that he’ll be home in a few hours - to which Walnut yawns and Ivy barely deigns to open one bright green eye to give him a disapproving look before they both go back to sleeping - takes a deep breath, and leaves his flat. 

Carlos picks him up from a previously agreed upon spot not too far away and takes him to a nice restaurant. It’s not one of those fancy ones he’s seen Bond take countless of marks to (and where he assumes the man takes his London flings as well; not that he ever consciously thinks about that, but if he did then those would be the paths his mind would take) but it’s not a pub either, and its atmosphere is nice and cosy. 

Not so surprisingly, he is having a nice time with Carlos. The man is funny and nice and knows exactly what Q does for a living, and he’s near genius level of intelligence, himself. All in all, without that unfortunate crush that he’s nursed probably ever since the very first time he met the famous 007 (embarrassing as it is to admit), Q could even see himself developing some deeper feelings for Carlos. 

Well, he thinks he could, if it wasn’t for the unfortunate fact that when Carlos kisses him goodnight after dropping him off at the same spot where he picked him up from, Q feels absolutely nothing. 

But Q wouldn't be Q if he wasn’t stubborn, and so he kisses him back and makes it as good as he can. And when Carlos pulls away he can honestly say that it was a nice kiss. So when Carlos suggests another dinner for the next day, Q says yes again, because surely practice will make perfect, and he _will_ eventually get over the annoying crush on a man who would never want him back, or he’ll die trying. 

Considering his choice of career, the second option is frighteningly feasible. 

Q says his goodbyes to his date and walks the rest of the way home in quiet contemplation. He gets in, gives his cats a few treats to apologise for being absent for longer than what he meant to, and retires to bed without his nightly mug of Earl Grey for once. The cats take their places on his feet and chest respectively, and Q pets them while distractedly wondering what Bond is up to right now. 

*

Their second date gets pushed back to Tuesday for reasons beyond Q’s control, but as Carlos stays in Q Branch for almost as long as Q himself while they labour to resolve the crisis 004 has stumbled upon during his mission in Paraguay, Q’s sure he understands. 

(Well, he knows that he does, because Carlos tells him so while bringing him his nth mug of strong but sweet tea, and he also makes sure that Q gets food even when he literally cannot tear himself away from his laptop. He even offers to give Q a massage during one of the rare breaks they get to have, when 004 is in hiding and the government of Paraguay is taking their sweet time to respond to Q’s emails, but he accepts it when Q declines politely and cites workplace regulations as his reason.) 

And when Q gets home on Monday evening to have the first proper sleep for what feels like forever, he can only be happy that Bond has apparently taken one of his notorious sabbaticals for the man has been absent for the last two days despite his mission ending already on Saturday. At least he hasn’t needed to deal with the troublesome agent on top of saving 004’s arse, and if that isn’t a small miracle then nothing is.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Q wakes up way too early for his liking, and it’s naturally all because of Bond.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here’s the second chapter for you, I hope you’ll enjoy it. 🌞

Q wakes up in the middle of the night to a hand lightly shaking his shoulder and a worryingly familiar presence in his bedroom. 

“007?! What the hell?” he manages to sputter when he finally gets his bearings long enough to grope for his glasses on the bedside table. “It’s 3.40 AM, what are you doing here? And more importantly, how did you get in?”

Bond shrugs. “I came through the window.”

“Of course you did,” Q mutters as he takes his first good look at the man. He looks to be in one piece, though there is a stain of red slowly seeping through the man’s white undershirt, which Q only sees because he has taken off his suit jacket. 

“I take it this isn’t a social call, then?” he says, hiding a yawn behind his hand. He suspects Bond to have come to him because of the obvious wound he’s sporting - probably a knife wound, unless the man is stupid enough to cover a bullet wound under that currently less than pristine shirt; and how sad is it that he wouldn’t put it past Bond? - though why his choice has landed on his Quartermaster Q hasn’t the foggiest. Well, lucky for him Q knows first aid, even in the half asleep state that he currently is. 

”It could be, if you preferred that,” Bond replies easily, making Q snort. 

”What I did prefer was to be able to sleep uninterrupted until the morning, but since that ship has sailed I _would_ prefer to take a look at that wound you’re not even trying to hide anymore.” 

Bond chuckles at that, but nods anyway. ”I would appreciate it, yes.”

”Then move your arse out of my bedroom and into the loo, please. I need proper light for this,” Q commands, and to his mild surprise Bond does as he’s told. Q blinks but wastes no time in following him, stopping only to grab a cardigan to cover his bare torso with. He’d barely had the energy to change into a pair of pyjama bottoms before collapsing into bed the previous night, and he’s almost painfully aware of the fact that now Bond has seen him shirtless. 

In the bathroom, Q turns on the light, blinking owlishly for a few seconds due to the brightness, and directs Bond to sit down on the closed toilet lid and to take off his shirt. The man complies easily enough - if one disregards the, ”Why, if you wanted me undressed you only needed to ask,” followed by a wink - which in itself would be cause for alarm, but when he even allows Q to numb his skin before he starts with the stitches, Q cannot but exclaim, ”Who are you and what have you done to James Bond?!” 

Bond frowns lightly. ”I thought that you wanted me to do as I’m told.” 

”Yes, I certainly do want that,” Q replies, ”but it doesn’t change the fact that you rarely do. What makes this time different?” 

”You do.”

And that’s all Bond seems willing to say about that, so Q takes a breath and goes to work. He’s quick but efficient, his stitches neat and precise, and it doesn’t take long for him to finish the last stitch and declare the result perfectly passable. 

”Aren’t you going to ask me about it?” Bond asks, buttoning his shirt again. 

”About what?” Q replies, distracted, as he’s putting away his first aid kit. 

”About the wound you just finished stitching.” 

”Oh, that. No, I don’t want to know,” Q says. ”I shall leave all the probing to M, who you will go and see bright and early in the morning.”

”I’d much rather you do the probing, or better yet, be the one to do it to you,” Bond says, and there’s that annoying little smile of his again. 

Q sighs. ”Go home, 007. Sleep for a few hours and then go see M. And flirt with him, if you dare.” 

”I don’t want to flirt with him though.”

”And I don’t want to stand here listening to you when I could be back in my bed, asleep with my cats sleeping curled up around me, but obviously we cannot always get what we want.” 

Bond shakes his head, looking amused but wistful. ”So you’re really kicking me out of your home right now?”

”Finally he gets it,” Q says dryly. Had he been more awake, he’d surely appreciate - and freak out a bit, let’s be real here - the fact that Bond is in his flat more, but right now he only hears the sweet call of his bed and his interrupted dreams. 

”All right, then,” Bond says. ”Never let it be said that I won’t obey my Quartermaster.” 

Q rolls his eyes. ”Please, as if you ever do what I say without at least questioning it first.” 

”I object,” Bond says, but he’s clearly hiding a smile so Q pays it no mind. Instead, he ushers the by now redressed Bond out of the bathroom and into the hall, telling him that even if he did come in through the window, surely he can at least leave through the front door like a civilised person. 

Bond acquiesces easily enough. Then, right before reaching the door, he stops and turns to face Q one more time. ”Thank you for your invaluable help, Q,” he says solemnly. 

”You’re welcome. But next time, please consider going to Medical instead,” Q replies, though he doesn’t expect his words to make any difference to Bond. 

“Of course, Q.” 

And Bond nods at him, turns, and leaves Q’s flat, silent as a cat. Q wonders fleetingly why his actual cats haven’t been showing any interest to the happenings at all, but then he shrugs and decides to leave any and all further ponderings for the morning. Late morning, if it’s at all up to him. He goes back to bed and the cats and falls asleep the minute his head hits the pillow.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Q goes on another date and later has an unexpected visitor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here’s another chapter for you. (Just a fair warning though: the next one won’t appear quite as quickly, I’ll need to focus on my other fest creations as well. 😆)

Q wakes up around noon, and even then it’s only because the cats have decided that they desperately need his company. For what, Q has no ideas as their food bowls have been filled and their litter boxes emptied by Q’s own inventions, but he reckons that they’re just bored of him laying in bed without doing anything interesting and that they simply miss him. He certainly misses them, not having been back home for more than a quick cat nap since Saturday afternoon. 

Yawning, Q gets out of bed and starts to get ready for the day. He has a slow and thorough brunch while watching telly on the sofa whilst the cats are scuffling over the privilege of sleeping on his lap and getting the complimentary cuddles (almost managing to spill his mug of tea on three separate occasions), followed by a nap with both Walnut and Ivy, by now having reached an impasse, lying on top of him. He wakes up again on time to get ready for his date, though he does manage to squeeze in a bit of time to take a quick look at his work email after a shower. 

Bond’s on a short leave for the next couple of days, so Q doesn’t expect to see him before next week. He wants to feel relieved over the fact that he won’t be getting bothered by the man in his Branch, but the feeling is heavily tinged with regret that he won’t be seeing Bond anytime soon. 

Yes, perhaps his unfortunate crush has gone deeper than he’d expected. Q vows to work on that with more determination, and throws himself fully into preparing for his date. He chooses his clothes carefully and puts on new cologne, then makes sure that the cats are fed and given a few treats before he finally leaves. 

Carlos picks him up from the same place as last time and takes him to another nice restaurant. They have a lovely meal and manage to talk mostly about anything but work, though for a while there the conversation strays over to Bond’s latest mission - Carlos has heard that Bond has gotten stitches although he never stepped foot in Medical, and he speculates on who 007 has managed to seduce into helping him while Q bites the inside of his cheek and remains as calm and unaffected as he can manage - before returning to other, more innocent topics. 

Eventually, they leave the restaurant and Carlos takes him back to the same spot. The kisses they share right next to the car, in plain view of anyone who might walk past them, should fill Q with excitement, but again he feels mild interest at most. He lets nothing of it show, however, and agrees on another date for the weekend. 

*

Q sees Bond bright and early on Monday morning when the agent arrives to Q Branch to pick up his kit for a mission to Hungary. They exchange their normal amount of banter while Q shows to Bond what he’s getting this time, though Bond seems to be focusing more on his voice than what he actually says. He’s also getting closer to Q than ever before, invading his personal space with an air of someone who has done it time and time again and therefore finds it perfectly natural. 

Q finds it all very disconcerting, though he hides it under a professional guise and does his best to make sure that Bond knows what he’s being given and how to use those gadgets. 

Eventually, Bond leaves, though not without a parting quip and a flirtatious smile. Q blinks as he watches the man exit his office, but then he shrugs and blames Bond’s strange behaviour on his having had a particularly pleasant fling during the weekend. 

*

Q finds Bond waiting for him on his flat on Wednesday evening. He’s sitting there on the sofa with Ivy purring on his lap and Walnut washing his paws next to him. He has again lost his suit jacket, and Q can see a tear on his white shirt with hints of red around it. Another knife wound, then, he concludes, though this time there seems to be less blood involved. 

Q sheds his outer layers and steps into the living room. ”Fancy seeing you here, 007. Again.”

”Good evening, Q,” Bond says and smiles genially. ”Your cats are adorable.”

“I thought I told you to go to Medical the next time you needed stitches,” Q says, not letting Bond continue the small talk derailing the conversation. 

“You told me to consider it,” Bond corrects him. “I did consider it.”

“But?”

“I decided that I prefer your touch to Medical’s.”

“Should I be honoured?” Q inquires with a raised eyebrow.

“You can be, if you like,” Bond replies. 

Q rolls his eyes. ”All right, then, tell me how bad is it?” 

Bond shrugs. ”Not nearly as bad as last time. Won’t need more than a stitch or two, I’d imagine.”

”I’d prefer to be the judge of that, if you won’t terribly mind,” Q says. 

”Whatever you say,” Bond says. He gets up slowly and carefully maneuvres Ivy from his lap to the sofa, setting her down next to Walnut. 

”Shall we move to the loo, then?” Q asks, and Bond nods. He follows Q to the bathroom and takes off his shirt without being asked, then sits down and allows Q to clean the wound and make his own assessment with no further comments. 

”I think two stitches should do it,” Q finally says and reaches for the first aid kit. He makes a mental note of needing to restock it the next chance he gets, especially if he’s to be doing this to Bond on a more permanent basis in the near future, then sets to work. 

Afterwards, Q puts away the first aid kit while Bond gets redressed. Somehow, they end up sitting on the sofa again, with Ivy back on Bond’s lap and Walnut on Q’s, both cats purring, and Bond offers to order takeaway as compensation for Q’s help. 

Q, realising that he’s actually starving, needs no further coaxing. He nods and watches as Bond makes the call, blinking when he hears the man give out his address without even the slightest hitch in the conversation. Bloody spies, he thinks ruefully, though he acknowledges the fact that Bond is one of the best ones, so it’s really quite natural that he has managed to find it out. 

”Our food should be here in half an hour,” Bond tells him after ending the call. 

Q nods. ”Shall I make us some tea while we wait?” he offers. 

”That would be nice,” Bond says, so Q places Walnut onto the sofa and gets up to go and do just that.

*

Their food arrives after half an hour, just like Bond said. The man gets the door and pays for the delivery, then brings the food to the kitchen where Q is waiting with drinks and utensils. 

And that is how Q ends up having takeaway with James Bond in his own flat for the very first time. Had someone told him that just a few weeks ago, he’d have probably chuckled and not believed a word of it. 

Now, though, as he sits there opposite the man and watches him feed small slivers of his beef to the cats (after having made sure that it’s all right with Q), Q can only marvel at his life and what it has become.


End file.
